CMBS Delinquencies' Spike

The percentage of CMBS loans delinquent by 30 or more days in April skyrocketed to roughly five times its level a year ago, according to Trepp LLC.Thirty-plus day CMBS delinquencies have not ever seen a year-to-year spike like this in the history of the CMBS market, Trepp senior managing director Manus Clancy told MortgageWire. He added that CMBS delinquencies have been accelerating month-by-month since January. Delinquencies during the past two months have been at highs not seen since February 2004 and April's month-to-month jump in delinquencies was the largest seen since November 2001. When asked whether CMBS delinquencies may continue to ramp up, Mr. Clancy said he could not provide a forecast. However, he noted that, "It's a bad sign the fact that they're accelerating. In other parts of the economy people are looking for floors, but this seems to be accelerating." Despite the high delinquency rates, spreads on AAA CMBS eligible for the government's TALF program under new terms added Friday have been tightening, Mr. Clancy said.